129: I'm here to be Cao Cao's traitor.

Lu Fan looked at the System Light Screen before him, feeling a little stunned.

Just like that... absolute submission?

Affinity went straight up to 100%?

I haven't even gotten to the main event yet... Did this Progress Bar take a rocket?

Lu Fan rubbed his chin.

As expected of someone dedicated to art.

Her thought process is truly convoluted.

She simply doesn't take the conventional path.

The sheer violent suppression I just displayed probably hit one of her strange kinks.

This was a Dimensional Reduction Strike, essentially.

Well, alright. It looks like tonight's "Binding Ceremony" can be moved up.

He collected his thoughts and glanced at the ruins.

Chen Gang rushed over, scrambling with several soldiers in tow.

Everyone looked at him as if he were a living god who had walked out of a myth.

"Brother Lu Fan!"

Chen Gang's voice was trembling as he handed over a heavy military cloth bag.

"These are... all the crystal cores collected from the cleanup this time."

Lu Fan took it and weighed it in his hand; the contents were quite substantial.

Opening it, he saw hundreds of crystal cores, multicolored and varied.

Several of them even had distinctly different energy fluctuations.

Special crystal cores.

Not bad, a great haul.

Lu Fan put the bag away with satisfaction.

"Where is Xiao Zhan?"

He asked casually.

The excitement on Chen Gang's face immediately fell, and his voice was low.

"The General... he was too severely injured."

"The doctor said it doesn't look good."

...In the Temporary Hospital, the smell of blood mixed with disinfectant, stinging the brain.

Wounded soldiers were groaning everywhere.

Lu Fan immediately spotted Xiao Zhan lying in the innermost section.

He looked like a mummy, with blood seeping through all his bandages.

His square face was as white as paper.

Seeing Lu Fan, Xiao Zhan's eyes brightened, and he struggled to sit up.

"Don't move."

Lu Fan stepped forward and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Trying to meet the King of Hell early?"

Xiao Zhan gave a wry smile, breathing like a broken bellows.

"Brother... Lu Fan..."

He looked at Lu Fan, his eyes filled with gratitude, admiration, and unconcealable helplessness.

"We owe you so much this time."

"Without you... Tianhu Base would already be gone."

Lu Fan pulled up a chair and sat down, ignoring the comment.

Xiao Zhan was silent for a moment, then suddenly stared intensely at Lu Fan, his eyes full of despair.

"I... I might not last much longer."

"This base, these hundred thousand survivors..."

He suddenly grabbed Lu Fan's hand, using all his strength.

"I want to... entrust them to you!"

Lu Fan laughed.

Damn, playing such a high-stakes game? Directly Entrusting the Heir?

I came here to be Cao Cao, not Zhuge Liang!

If I'm stuck attending meetings and arguing all day, how am I supposed to develop new Illustrations?

Lu Fan shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"No, absolutely not."

"I have a ton of my own things to deal with; I don't have time to manage this mess."

He pointed toward the hundred-ton king outside and fabricated an excuse.

"See? That venerable one in my vehicle is a Mobile Natural Disaster."

"She could go berserk at any moment and freeze this entire place."

"I have to watch her and prepare for an escape. I don't have time to be your nanny."

The light in Xiao Zhan's eyes was instantly extinguished.

He looked like a man whose backbone had been removed, collapsing onto the bed with a long sigh.

Lu Fan felt inexplicably annoyed seeing him in such a half-dead state.

Damn it, I hate owing favors.

In his previous life, when he was being hunted, this man had indeed saved him.

Even though he himself didn't know it in this life.

But Lu Fan remembered.

Forget it, consider it an investment.

Maybe he could still exploit this base later.

Lu Fan cursed inwardly and pulled two Type 95 Assault Rifles from his Storage Space.

They were the ones Xiao Zhan had given him earlier.

"Clack."

He tossed the guns onto the adjacent hospital bed.

"Your guns are trash."

Chen Gang nearby immediately took offense.

"Brother Lu Fan! These are the standard issue weapons of our military!"

Xiao Zhan also opened his eyes, looking at him in confusion.

Lu Fan didn't bother explaining and merely raised his chin toward Chen Gang.

"Don't believe me?"

"Go outside and try it."

Chen Gang suspiciously picked up one of the rifles, and his hand immediately dropped.

So heavy! It was at least a third heavier than the standard issue rifle!

He looked down, and his pupils instantly constricted.

The gun body was no longer the familiar black enamel, but a deep metallic gray.

It was covered in strange, dark gold patterns resembling a circuit board.

When touched, it wasn't cold, but had a warm, smooth texture.

It felt as if energy was flowing inside.

He walked outside and aimed at the cargo bed of an overturned military truck in the distance.

He aimed and pulled the trigger.

"BOOM—!!!"

That wasn't a gunshot! That was a goddamn cannon blast!

A massive, muffled sound that made hearts skip a beat!

The terrifying recoil was like being violently struck in the shoulder by a bull, forcing Chen Gang a step backward!

He stared wide-eyed in shock at the spot a hundred meters away.

A basin-sized hole was clearly visible in the thick steel plating of the military truck!

Molten steel flowed like liquid around the edge of the hole, making a sizzling sound, and the entire opening glowed red hot!

Pierced through with a single shot! And it was an overwhelming penetration!

Chen Gang was dumbstruck. His hand slackened, and the rifle fell to the ground with a clang.

He pointed at the smoking hole, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Wh... What the hell..."

Xiao Zhan, inside the room, was helped to the doorway by a Guard.

When he saw the horrifying hole in the truck, his entire body froze.

"What... What is going on?"

Lu Fan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking perfectly calm.

"My ability."

"I can Enhance Weapons."

When his voice fell, there was dead silence.

Everyone stared intently at Lu Fan, looking at him as if he were a deity.

The ability to Enhance Weapons?

What kind of Heaven-Defying Ability is this?

Xiao Zhan's breathing instantly became rapid!

In his dim eyes, a raging flame reignited!

It was hope!

The only hope that could allow the base to survive!

"Brother Lu Fan! Can... Can you..."

"Don't even think about it."

Lu Fan interrupted him immediately.

"If I enhanced your entire Armory, I'd die of exhaustion on the spot."

Seeing the light extinguish in Xiao Zhan's eyes once more, Lu Fan changed the subject.

"However..."

He held up three fingers.

"Three days."

"Within three days, I can help you enhance a batch of Core Firepower."

"Pistols, rifles, heavy machine guns, rocket launchers..."

"That will be enough for you to deal with the next Demon Tide."

Lu Fan looked at him, his tone calm.

"Consider this... repayment for a favor you did me."

A favor?

Xiao Zhan was startled, then suddenly understood.

He remembered that he had promised to give Lu Fan two Type 95 Assault Rifles earlier.

He hadn't expected that for such a small matter.

Brother Lu Fan had actually kept it in mind.

And was repaying it with such a grand gesture!

That's generous! That's incredibly generous!

In an instant, the way Xiao Zhan looked at Lu Fan carried a hint of seeing a true Confidant.

"Brother Lu Fan! What about... artillery, mortars, tanks..."